I Have Loved You Since Forever
by BoandNora-ItsOneWord
Summary: What if Robert had told Anna how he feels about her before she married Duke? How would things be different? A short two shot inspired by the song "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran.


**This was supposed to be a one-shot but It got way too long and I still have ideas so it will be a two shot. LOL**

**I Have Loved You Since Forever**

_Inspired by the song "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran._

He watched her from the door frame as she stood in front of the mirror. He knew she had probably done this at least a million times by now. _A good woman is worth waiting for, he thought._ She smiled at him, as if sensing his presence and his heart caught in his throat. _She does not know that she is bloody perfect just the way she is, he thinks. _

"God you are beautiful," he whispers, lost in the memories of another wedding in another lifetime. "Still the most beautiful bride I've ever seen."

"Robert," she starts to say, and he seems startled by the sound of her voice, as if he was not entirely aware that he was saying any of this to her. She puts a hand on his shoulder, as if to ask him to talk to her, but then the moment passes. When her bridesmaids enter, Robert excuses himself, as if the moment never happened. _Typical, she thinks. _

"Anna, are you okay," Felicia asks.

"You look a little pale," Tiffany adds.

_I am worried about Robert, she thinks_. "I'm fine, "she says.

Felicia and Tiffany share a knowing glare, but decide not to press it on her wedding day. This was Anna's choice, after all.

* * *

Anna waits for Robert to return to walk her down the aisle but the minutes are ticking away and she is starting to get concerned. _He has to be okay, she thinks. He just has to._

"I have to find Robert," she says suddenly.

"Are you sure that is a good idea," Bobbie asks.

"Something was weighing on his mind when he was here. I can't get married without my best friend."

She hurries away before anyone can question her further. They all know the history between Anna and Robert.

* * *

He felt a crushing weight in his chest as he walked outside into the garden nearby. He took a seat on a bench and put his head in his hands. He did not want to feel this way. For years, he had been struggling with what he felt for her. It all seemed to come rushing to the surface the moment he saw his beautiful "Bride" standing in that dress on a day he hoped would never come. _Secretly hoped, he amended. _He would always hope she was happy, and that had not changed. He just hated to think of someone else getting to call her his wife. Secretly, he still thought of her as _his_ wife.

"Hey Dad, It's me," Robert whispers. "I know it's been a while since I talked to you but I could really use your advice. You see, there is a woman that I have been in love with since…Well since I knew what love was. You always told me that I would find someone someday that would change my life and you were right. Anna has changed everything for me. I do not know what I am supposed to do now that she is about to marry another man. Sometimes I look at her and I can see my future in her eyes. Other times, I wonder if I could stand to hear her tell me that she does not love me anymore. I mean, who am I to think I deserve that kind of love after everything that has happened between us in the past?"

A single tear ran down his cheek, followed by another and just like that the floodgates opened. It was as if the tears were an open wound and his pain was so raw that he could no longer hold it inside his tortured soul. He slapped at his cheeks angrily as if he resented every second of the emotional outburst and looked up towards the sky.

"I'm still in love with a woman who is not mine to love anymore. I need to know what I am supposed to do about that. Is it fair for me to ask her to give us another shot when I am supposed to give her away to someone else? What if I cannot do that Dad. What if I never get over her?"

He takes a deep breath, for a moment lost in the gravity of his feelings. "Should I tell her how I feel?"

The sound of rustling leaves brings him out of his thoughts and when he looks up, she is suddenly standing right in front of him. When she smiles at him, if only for a split second, it erases all of his doubts and he suddenly knows what he has to do.

"Annie,_"_ he sighs, as he rises to approach her. "My God, you still take my breath away."

He caresses the side of her cheek with his thumb, the dark mystery hidden behind his heart stopping eyes, making her turn away. S_he could not allow herself to get lost in those beautiful eyes again._ He tilts her chin, as if reading her mind, giving her no choice but to gaze into those magnetic baby blues. _Eyes that once held her hostage. _

"Robert," she whispers. _Please stop looking at me like that Scorpio. God Dammit, I know what it means. _

He reaches up to run his fingers through her hair, gently pushing the veil to the side. Anna moves her lips to say something but no words come out. _She knows she should tell him to stop. Except at the moment, she can barely remember to breathe._ He looks at her lips, and suddenly he cannot remember anything he wants to tell her.

His arms slip around her waist as he tugs her against him, and he leans in to kiss her tenderly. _Why is she not pulling away, he wonders_. Anna's fingers move through his hair and he runs his tongue along her lower lip, kissing her sensually. _He wants her to know how he feels. It might be his last chance to show her_. Anna clings to him as the kiss grows in intensity, and he pulls her still closer. His urgent mouth was parting her lips, biting down slightly as he plunges his tongue into her mouth. He could feel her shudder in his arms and it was then that he knew she was kissing him back. He moans into her mouth as the kiss continues and he cannot remember a time when he had ever felt this much for another person…not since the last time he was with her.

Only the need for air caused them to break the kiss and he puts his forehead against hers, both of them breathing heavily.

"Why, why are you doing this _today,_" she stammers.

"I didn't plan this Luv. I thought I could let you do it. That I could give you away."

"And you've suddenly decided that you _can't,_ "she questions.

"It's not exactly sudden okay. It's something that has been on my mind for a while now."

"Then why did you never say anything Robert? Why did you wait until my wedding day?"

"Anna, you know me. You are the only one who really does. You _know_ this is not my style."

"Then why are you doing it?"

"Because if I don't, then I will never be able to live with myself. I want you to be happy Annie. That has not changed. If you can honestly look me in the eyes after what we just shared and tell me that you do not feel the same, then I will walk away…but if you cannot do that…"

"I almost wish I could tell you that I don't…but you would know that I was lying."

"I know that I've hurt you Luv. I know it might be easier to walk away from me."

"It would _never_ be easy to walk away from _you._"

"Okay then hear me out okay. Can you at least give me a chance to tell you how I feel?"

"I can do that," she says, biting her bottom lip.

"Anna, you and I have a long and complicated history. We have hurt each other more than anyone else ever could but we have also loved just as hard. It is not _ever_ going to be easy with us…its _messy_. We_ fight _Annie…and we fight _for _each other. We even fight _too hard_ to protect each other sometimes. None of that matters to me. What matters to me is the fact that despite all of that, I am _still_ hopelessly in love with you. I tried to hate you and I never could. I tried to be your friend and it was never enough. I want you back for no other reason than the fact that I do not know how to breathe without you. You are in my blood Annie. I love you so much."

"Do you really mean that Robert," she asks, a single tear falling from her face. "Are you really still in love with me?"

"I am with all my heart and all my soul," he admits, pulling her against him once more. He kisses her forehead and she wraps her arms around him. "The question that matters though is not how _I_ feel but how _you_ feel. What are you going to do Anna…Are you still going to marry him? Do my feelings for you even _matter?"_

"How can you even _ask_ that Robert," she questions. "Don't you know how I feel about you? How I have _always_ felt about you?"

"I'm going to need you to say it Annie. I have learned from experience that one should never assume. "

_How could he not know, she wonders… but then understands. She was supposed to marry another man today. Of course, he would have doubts. _

"Robert, I," she starts.

"What's going on here, "Sean questions, interrupting the moment. "You_ do_ know you have people waiting for you, right?"

Anna looks at Robert and then back to Sean. He knows that something has happened between his friends just by the way they suddenly could not look at each other. He also knows better than to question it.

"Is there going to be a wedding or not," he asks instead. Anna does not know what to say. She does not even _understand_ where all these emotions are coming from. She thought she had buried them long ago.

"Of _course_ there is," Robert says, reading her indecision as an answer. "Do me a favor Sean…take over for me? I cannot watch this…not when I know she's marrying the wrong man." _How can she marry him when she was kissing me like that? After I just poured my heart out to her._

"Robert _wait,_" Anna pleads.

"It's okay Luv. You have a right to choose happiness. If I am not the one who makes you happy then…I am sorry Luv but I cannot watch you marry him. I cannot give you away. Not when I know that _I _am the one who _really_ loves you."

"I didn't even tell you how I feel Robert…"

"No but your silence did. "

She can see the tears welling in his eyes and she wants to reach out to him but he is already walking away.

"_Please don't go_," she cries, her heels digging into the grass as she tries to go after him. "_Please don't leave me again_."

"Anna," Sean says…"You're going to kill yourself in those heels."

"If you are trying to make me laugh, it's not going to work. I _really_ screwed up Sean."

"I am going to assume that means that you are in love with him too."

"Why couldn't I tell him that Sean? Why did I let him walk away?"

"To be fair, you _did_ try to go after him."

"This isn't funny Sean. Robert finally gets up the courage to tell me how he feels and I can't even say anything to let him know that he isn't in this alone."

"So there's going to be no wedding right?"

_"Sean,_" she challenges, exasperated. "I need you to help me get to Robert."

"What do you need sweetheart?"

"Give me your car keys."

"_Anna, you can't be serious. " _

_"Goddamn it Sean, We are talking about the man I love here. What if he gets in an accident or something?" _

"How do you even _know_ he has left?"

"Because I know him…and he thinks that I just broke his heart again. I can't let him go on believing that I don't love him the way he loves me because I _do_…with all that I am. Are you going to help me or do I have to go through Tiffany?"

"I'll help you," Sean says. "As long as you can answer me one question honestly."

"What do you want to know," Anna asks.

"What's different this time? Anna, I have seen you and Robert walk the line for years now and you always seem to get right up to the edge before backing away. I need to know that you are not going to do that to him again because the last time that happened, he nearly killed himself from the pain. Are you 100% sure that it is Robert that you want to be with this time?"

Tears slide down her cheeks as she reaches up to touch Sean's own cheek.

"You are right to question that Sean. When Robert and I divorced, we both went down a destructive path. It has taken us years even to get to this place. The truth is, though, that I have_ always_ loved him more than I have _ever_ loved anyone else. All he _ever_ had to do was ask. The answer was _always_ going to be _yes._"

"I'm glad you are _finally_ going after what you want. For that reason alone, I will give you my keys. But _please_ do not crash it."

"_I'm _not the bad driver Sean," she quips, as she takes the keys from his hands. "_Robert _is."

Sean just grins as Anna takes off her shoes and starts running down the grassy field towards Sean's car. She was so intent on getting to Robert that she nearly ran right into Duke. _Might as well get this done now, she thought. Please let Robert be okay. _

"What's going on Anna, "he asked. "You're not running out on our wedding are you?"

Sean stepped beside Anna, his hand on her shoulder, steadying her the way Robert always did. She takes a deep breath as she slides the engagement ring off her finger and places it in his palm.

"I'm sorry Duke. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. "

"Then don't."

"I have to, "she admits. "Because there is not going to be a wedding."

"What are you _talking _about? _Of course,_ there is going to be a wedding. We have guests waiting for us."

"Guests or not, I can't marry you Duke. I will not stand up in front of God, our family and friends and promise something that is not true. I can't marry you because I'm in love with someone else."

He could almost feel his blood boiling as he scowled at her. "Of _course_ it would be about Scorpio. It _always_ was. How many times did you swear to me that you were_ just friends_ Anna? _How many times?"_

"What do you want me to say Duke? We _both_ know you are just going to twist whatever it is, I _do_ say. "

"_I want you to admit that you never loved me…that every time we were together, you were wishing it was him. Admit it Anna. I never stood a chance as long as Robert was alive." _

"Okay, that's _enough_, "Sean said, stepping in front of Anna. "She has already told you that she cannot marry you. You should just be happy that she is telling you how she feels _now _and not _during_ the ceremony. You need to accept it. Anna has a right to choose Happiness."

"_If she is she is so damn happy then where in the hell is that piece of garbage that she is leaving me for?_ What's the matter Anna…Has he left you _already?"_

He stumbled backwards as the impact of her open palm connecting with his cheek sent him flying.

"It is _over_ Duke. I am in love with Robert. I am _not _going to stand here and argue with you any longer."

She turned the corner and started rushing away from him, Duke attempting to lift himself from the ground.

"Where do you think _you're_ going," Sean challenged.

"_Get out of my way,_" Duke Spat.

"I don't _think _so. I am _not_ going to let you go after my friends. You want to hit someone…fine; you can hit the damn wall. "

"You can't _keep_ me here Donely," Duke yelled.

"No, but I can knock you out if you don't cooperate. Do _not_ make the mistake of thinking I will not. What's it going to be?"

"As if I have a choice."

"Atta Boy," Sean says, clapping him on the back. He finds Tiffany with the other bride's maids and she asks him what just happened.

"To make a long story short, Anna called off the wedding."

"_What? Why?"_ Felicia asked.

"Robert finally put his heart on the line and Anna realized that _he _is the one she wants. I gave her the keys to my car so she could find Robert and tell him. "

"He doesn't know," Tiffany, questioned.

"He got the wrong idea when Anna didn't immediately call off the wedding. She knows she was wrong Sweetheart. She wants to make it right."

"Good," she admitted. "But what about Duke?"

"One of us needs to stay with him tonight. He is angry and upset and I am afraid he will try to go after Robert. "

"_He's going to get himself killed Sean,_" Tiffany says.

"Which is why we have to put him under house arrest tonight. He is going to hurt himself or someone else if we do not. I really don't want to have to knock him out."

"I think he might be more receptive to Frisco and I," Felicia admitted. Do not worry Sean. We will take care of him."

"Thank you Princess."

He kisses her forehead and she goes to find Frisco. Together they help Duke into the car. Tiffany turns to Sean.

"You are a good man Sean Donely. "

"I don't know about that," he admits.

"I do," she says, and kisses him.

* * *

Anna parks the car in the back of their PI office. She had been saying a prayer the entire ride over that she still knew him well enough to know where he would go if he wanted to be alone._ Please let him be here, she thinks. Please do not let it be too late. _

She does not know if she should call out to him or not. He was probably brooding. Maybe even a little bit drunk.

"Robert," she calls, and pushes the office door open. She just stands in the open doorway and smiles. There is an empty bottle of brandy sitting on his desk but his eyes are closed. _If she had not already been in love with him, she would have fallen in love with him in that moment. _

She walks closer to him and kneels down at his level so she can watch him sleep. "I'm sorry Scorpio. If you can hear me, please know that I am so sorry for not telling you that I could never marry another man knowing that _you _were still an option."

She runs her fingers through his disheveled hair and smiles.

"You look so innocent when you sleep. If only you had waited a little longer to turn to that bottle. Our evening would be _anything _but innocent. You sleep now sweetheart. When you are sober, you _won't _be getting any sleep."

She kisses his cheek and he barely even stirs so she decides to risk it and climbs up into his lap and puts her head on his shoulder.

"I love you Scorpio," she whispers as she closes her eyes and leans in a little closer to him._ Being in Roberts arms is still the most wonderful place in the world. _

* * *

Anna had been awake for a while now, just watching the steady rise and fall of his chest. She had seen Robert drunk before and had even been part of his intoxicated adventures more than once. Somehow when she watched him now, it felt different. There had never been so much on the line.

She nuzzles against his neck as she whispers his name in his ear. The light was just starting to come in through the blinds and she knew she had to try to get him up._ Sober him up, she thought._

"Robert," she says again, her voice now a sultry whisper. She kisses him lightly on the neck, making her way up his collarbone and nibbling on his earlobe. "Wake up Scorpio."

"_Annie,_" he moans, as she moves against him. Anna is watching him and smiles. She knows what he is dreaming. It is the same dream _she _has had for many years. The one where she is riding him as he thrusts into her hard and fast. She understands why he has that look on his face. It was enough to make even the most _hardened_ heart blush.

She runs her fingers through his hair this time as she grazes his bottom lip lightly with her teeth before kissing him. "_Bobby_," she coos. "I need you to open those sexy eyes for me. Its morning now sweetheart. Time to wake up."

The kiss grows in intensity when Robert's tongue instinctively Plunges into Anna's waiting mouth, eliciting a soft moan from Anna's lips. He reaches up to run his fingers through her dark locks, the kiss now fueled by primal need and a ravenous hunger. _She knew he was slowly starting to realize she was here with him. _

"Does Bobby need a little help waking up," she purred into his ear when the kiss ended. When he did not immediately respond, she let her hand slide down his torso until she reached the bulge in his pants. She smiles satisfactorily as she slides his zipper down and slips her hand into his boxers and strokes his full length.

"Does Bobby like that," she challenges.

"_Shit Annie,_" he yells. "_Shit,_ what are you _doing_ to me with those magical hands?"

"Open your eyes and you'll find out," she answers.

Slowly and reluctantly, he forces his eyelids open. He blinks once, closes them and blinks again.

"_Bloody Hell_," he yells, as his eyes begin to adjust to the bright sunlight. "You play dirty pool Luv."

"And here I was thinking that you_ liked_ dirty," she quips.

The corners of his lips turn upwards as he grins at her. _Only with you, he thinks._ _He's too damn cocky, she thinks. _

"I knew I was in trouble the first time I saw you in Sean's office," he admits. "That hint of mischief hidden under an aroma of confidence. You _knew _I was going to fall in love with you didn't you?"

She raised an eyebrow at him as she climbed off his lap. "I knew that_ I _was going to fall in love with _you_."

He looks at her through familiar eyes of love and in that moment, despite his hazy memories of the night before, he knows that she was here because she _chose _him.

"Were you here all night," he asks. _She does not respond. He does not expect her too._ _It was enough to know that she was in his arms when he woke. _

He tries to stand, but the room seems to spin in response, so he has to grab the arm of the chair to keep from losing his balance. Anna was immediately at his side. She could tell by the way that he held his head that he probably felt the kind of headache that feels as if someone is taking an ax to your cranium._ The hangover headache. _

"Do I need to take you home and put you to bed," she asks.

"Are you going to _help _me Nurse Feel-good," he questions, with a sexy little smile.

_Damn it, she was supposed to be mad at him for drinking so much. How could she ever be mad at him when he looks at her that way? _

"I don't know Scorpio," she says. "What kind of help do you need?"

"Well you know; there _is_ this swelling that could use some attention."

"Is that so," she asks, putting an arm around his shoulder. "Has Bobby been a_ good_ boy," she quips.

"Define what you mean by _'good,'_" he asks.

"Apparently not you," she responds, and they both start laughing.

"Just admit it Devane…_Good_ isn't exactly in your vocabulary. You want someone who can rock your world."

"And you think that's _you,_ do you?"

"Oh I _know_ it is. Maybe I should demonstrate?"

"Not today you won't…You smell."

"Well you know; there is a cure for that…It's called showering. You've heard of it haven't you?"

She slaps him lightly on the shoulder and tries to suppress a smile. "The problem with that notion is that at the moment, you can't seem to stand without wanting to hug the floor…and no, I am not going to help you so don't even ask."

"You wound me Devane."

"You'll live. "

He pauses just long enough to look into her eyes and her natural beauty once again astounds him.

"How do you still do that Luv? How do you still manage to take my breath away?"

She smiles because she knows he means it. "I already told you, you're _not _getting any tonight. You don't have to butter me up."

He reaches up to caress her cheek and she is very aware of the intensity of his stare. "It's true Anna. After all these years, you are _still_ the most beautiful thing, I have ever seen."

"Come on Scorpio…We need to get out of here. You're taking the day off."

"I am?"

"You are in _no_ condition to be handling clients and _I_ am supposed to be on my honeymoon so guess what…The rest of the world can get along just fine without us."

She helps support him so he can stand up and they take a few steps out the door.

"Where are you taking me Luv," he asks.

"Wouldn't _you _like to know," she quips.

He just smiles at her. _That was his woman of mystery. She knew he would follow her anywhere. _

* * *

It has been exactly **four hours** since they left the office and they are now snuggling on the bed of a four-poster hotel room. In the hours since they left the office, Anna and Robert had stopped at Kelly's where Anna insisted on feeding him breakfast. Robert was amazed that Anna remembered the ingredients of his hangover cure when Ruby whipped it up for him along with his eggs and bacon. When they had checked into the hotel, Robert had gone to take a shower and Anna had gone down to the gift shop to see if they had some fresh clothes. Now they were both showered and a lot more comfortable as they held each other close. It was the most peace either of them had felt in a long time.

"Anna, I'm sorry," Robert finally says. "I know I should not have taken off as I did and I certainly should not have gotten as drunk as I did."

"No, you shouldn't have," she agreed.

"In my defense though, I thought you were going to marry him despite everything I told you and everything we shared. It hurt okay. I just wanted to forget for a little while. Can you forgive me?"

She smiles as she reaches up to caress his cheek. "Oh Robert, of _course_ I forgive you. It is not as if I do not understand. Will you forgive me for not knowing how you feel for so long? I know I should have. We could have been together a lot sooner if I had."

Robert slowly ran his tongue over her bottom lip as he smiled at her. _She knew what he was doing. He was trying to weaken her resistance. _

"This isn't going to work Scorpio," she sighed. _Do you have any idea what you are doing to me with that sexy mouth?_

"What isn't," he asked, his eyes dark with passion. _Dear God, Devane, do you have any idea how much I want to touch you?_

She parted her lips and he grazed her bottom lip with his teeth as he plunged his tongue into her mouth. Anna moaned against him, as the intensity of the kiss grew more and more heated.

_"Annie,"_ he sighs when their eyes meet. _He wonders if she knows how much he wants her. _

_"Bobby,_" she whispers. _She wonders if he knows how much she needs him. _

Their hearts are beating rapidly as their foreheads touch. Robert runs his fingers through her hair as they try to catch their breaths.

If this were another lifetime ago, she might have given in. In this lifetime though, she needed to be sure that what they had was not just the after effects of the fact that she almost married another man. She knows that he loves her…she feels it. What she does not know is what is going to happen when they go back to the real world.

Maybe she just needs a little time to adjust to the fact that she finally has everything she always wanted…that she isn't going to wake up tomorrow and find that this is all a dream. _Anna Devane does not get to be happy…not until apparently right now. _This is all new to her. Happiness is something that _always _alluded her. _Except when she had been his wife_. What if it all went away.

"Anna, I'm right here," he says. "I am not going to leave you again. This is not a dream you are going to wake up from. Its real. "

_Of course, he would know exactly what she was thinking. He always did. _

"You have no idea how much I want to believe that. How much I want to trust my feelings for you."

"Can you at least admit to me what they _are?_ You _know_ how I feel Annie. You have not actually _told_ me how _you_ feel."

"Can it wait until tomorrow Robert? Please believe me when I tell you that I want this…I want_ us_…_you and me_…I just want a little more time to just hold you and believe that we can finally get it right."

"We can Luv," Robert says, as he kisses the top of her head. "You and I are forever okay? I know it might be a little hard to believe that after everything that has happened to us but it is true. I want to grow old with you Annie. I want you to be the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see before I go to bed at night. You take all the time you need. I am going to be right here waiting with you."

"I love you Robert. I do. Tomorrow I will tell you just how much. I promise. Can that be enough for tonight?"

"It already is," he tells her. "_You _will _always _be enough."

Anna puts her head back on his chest and he wraps his arms around her. Holding her in his arms like this is still the only thing he needs. "I love you Anna," he whispers, just before they fall asleep in each other's arms. All was right with the world again.

_When I saw you in that dress  
Looking so beautiful  
I don't deserve this  
Darling, you look perfect tonight_


End file.
